Am I going to need those? I doubt socks would be well viewed there... Uhgh, why do I have to go there? I hate-
"Solus!", a child's voice shouts.
I turn around to look at the source and smile when I see who is there.
"Hello, Twily."
She runs towards me and jump, hugging my neck and hanging from it.
"Raven told me you were leaving! Why are you leaving?", she whines.
I shake my head. She's so cute. Not in that way. Fuck. No, not fuck. Callise!
Aaanyway.
I use my magic to get her off and set her down gently.
"I'm sorry Twily, I was going to tell you after I had finished packing", I say while mussing up her mane.
She slaps my hoof away and pout.
"Why do you have to leave, though?", she asks petulantly.
"Every noblecolts who are twelve of age have to go to the I.M.S., Twily. Even the Prince."
"But that's not fair! I barely see you at it is, now I won't see you at all!", she protests, quite loudly at that.
And to think I tried to stave off a potential relationship, of any nature, between her and me...
*sigh*
"I know Twily, I'm sorry, but I've got to go."
"S'not fair!", she shouts, stomping her hoof.
What the hell did I do to get her so attached to me?
"Twilight, stop bothering him", a voice says.
I look in the direction of the voice and see Shining Armour standing in the doorway, with a chiding look aimed at his sister.
"But Shinyyyy-"
"No but", he smiles slightly while saying that. It kind of became our in-joke over the years, especially when you consider how Twily is pretty much Little Shiny 2.0. "Now, come on, Father's looking for you."
That make Twi's pout disappear instantly, with a look of pure panic replacing it.
"He is?!", she cries out. "Ohnononono, did I do something wrong? Is he going to disown me? Banish me? Disown AND banish me?!"
All the while, she's holding her face and hyperventilating. Silly, silly pony. I hope it's not genetic. Not because I want to have kids with her! It's just because I'm immortal and I'll probably have to deal with...
Oh, fuck it! Shit!
Shining steps up to her and muss her mane, laughing a little.
"No, no, Twily, he just wants to spend time with you before you go to school."
"R-really?", she asks with an uncertain tone.
"Yes, really. Come on, get going!", he says while making a shooing motion with his hooves.
She starts running toward the door before she skids to a halt, turn around and tackle-hug me. Well, my leg, but still. She looks up to me, with wide, pleading puppy-eyes.
"Promise you won't leave without saying goodbye?", she asks in a wobbling voice.
"I promise, Twily", I say with a smile.
She let go and scampers quickly away.
"She's quite the hoofful, isn't she?", Shining says.
"I wonder who she got it from?", I say in a deadpan tone.
He smiles wistfully.
"I was quite the snowflake, wasn't I?"
"You weren't that bad. Plus, you got better."
That he did. From scrawny little colt to a broad-shouldered young stallion, from a shrinking violet to a confident knight. In just a few short years, he'll be just like the canon!Shining, though hopefully less useless when it comes to solving crises.
"Did I now? Enough for me to survive the I.M.S.?", he says with a raise eyebrow and small smirk.
"Bah, I'm sure you'll trounce everyone at the Imperial Military School", I say, waving my hoof. "The students are all as pretentious as the name of the institution. If you ever get beaten by one of them in a fair fight I'll have Iron Rod double your training."
"Then I'll just have to beat them all, right?", he says with a cocksure grin.
I roll my eyes and smile. Thankfully it's all playful banter. He's still a soft marshmallow, deep down.
"Anyway", I say, "did you finish packing up?"
"I did", he replies, nodding.
"Good! Let's go see Fancy to make sure everything is proceeding as it should!"
"Fancy! You've got everything under control?"
Fancy smiles and bow.
"I do, Master Solus. The preparations shall be done in a timely manner, well before you have to leave, I daresay."
"Great! I've got no idea what I would do without you..."
"Flail and scream, quite probably."
"Why you-"
Shining elbows me lightly.
"He's right, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah, am I ever so glad to have such faithful servants", I say with the most sarcastic tone I could muster.
They snicker while I glare at them, before I roll my eyes at their silliness.
"Anyway, where's Mac?", I ask.
"Hmm, I think...", Fancy says, while rubbing his chin. "Ah! He went to see Sergeant Iron Rod."
"He did? Well, anyhow, thank you for working so hard, Fancy."
"Bah, 'so hard'? You barely challenge me."
"Then I guess you'll pretty bored when we'll be gone."
"Well...I guess I will", he says, smiling. "I will miss you, Master Solus."
"So will I, Fancy."
As I say that, he hugs me.
"Please, don't do anything stupid. I've invested too much in you for you to die because of a drinking game or a similar idiocy."
I pat his back.
"I won't, Fancy. Thank you for everything."
He let me go, smiling, with a slight glimmer at the corner of his eye.
"You better, you silly colt."
I stick my tongue out at him.
"Come on! At least now you'll have the time to find yourself a pretty mare to marry, no?"
He becomes red with embarrassment.
"I have no idea of what you're talking about!"
I look at Shining with a smile.
"Yes you do~", we say in a sing-song tone.
"Begone with you, cheeky brat!", he says with mock anger.
We turn around and run, laughing. Smiles are better than frown, no?
We arrive at the courtyard, where we can see Mac and Iron Rod talking.
"...and you better take good care of the Prince, got that?"
"Got it, sir!", Mac replies, saluting.
"Good! Then get moving! You've got preparations to make, maggot!", he barks back.
"Sir, yes sir!"
He turns around and walk at brisk pace to the entrance of the courtyard.
I am rather surprised at how well those two get along, especially when you consider how the started off. But, well, I did tell the Sergeant to treat him like a son, and he did. I think. I imagine it's how he'd treat his kids, but I don't know for sure. At the very least, his training did get rather amazing results. Mac's looks much older than he really is. He's going to be a juggernaut when he's all grown up.
Mac arrive at the doorway, where we are waiting. He raises an eyebrow when he sees us.
"We were looking for you", I say. "Saying your goodbyes?", I ask.
He hums his confirmation.
"Have you got everything ready?"
"Eeyup."
I roll my eyes. That's one aspect of the show I could have done without.
"Then let's get back to my suite. Unfortunately, there's going to be an event to mark my Consecration of Devotion."
"Is it going to last a week like last time?", he asks, as we begin to walk through the halls of the Castle.
"Fortunately not. Since the Consecration is there to mark a colt's entry to the IMS or just a simple Militia Bureau for pegasi, it's usually a low-key affair."
"Usually, uh?", he says in a mocking tone.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm the Prince, of course everything I do has to be blown way out of proportion."
"Well, at least it's just this one night, so it's not that bad", Shining says.
"If you say so", I reply. "Personally I'd rather not have to suffer the noble's presence."
"Ey, I'm a noble!"
"Your point being?", Mac says with a smirk.
"Why you...!", Shining says, lunging at the grinning red colt.
Said colt sidestepping the attack and then take of, galloping away.
"Come back here!", Shining shouts, taking off after him.
I shake my head and continue walking calmly, following their shouts.
"Solus? Can I come in?"
Cady?
"Sure!", I answer.
The door opens and Cadance comes in.
Cadance is becoming quite the cutie, svelte and graceful. Not that I'm attracted to her. I'd rather get gelded than even think of her that way. Though her beauty is marred by the fact that she's frowning quite heavily at the moment.
"Why can't I go with you?", she asks firmly.
*sigh*
"I already told you, I need you to stay here so you can watch over Twily and continue to learn from Fancy."
"You're lying!", she says accusingly, pointing a hoof at me.
I lower her hoof, looking at her very seriously.
"I am not lying, Cadance."
"Fine! Omitting the truth, then, is that better?", she say sardonically.
"Ugh, it's nothing..."
"It's not nothing if you're hiding it!"
I look down, hanging my head.
"It's...it's just that..."
"That what?"
"I'm worried."
"Worried?", she asks, confused. "About what?"
"About...! about...about you being..."
"Being...? Oh! Oh. You really think...?", she asks in a soft voice.
"Not all of them, but some of them will try to take advantage of you. Fancy told me the presence of mares are frowned upon there for very good reasons."
"Why didn't you just tell me?"
"I didn't want you to think you were left behind just because you're a mare. I do really need you here at the Castle, but I would have preferred if you hadn't know about this."
She lifts my face with her hoof, and then boop me with a smile on her face.
"You silly pony, I know you don't think like that. You don't have to keep that kind of secrets, well, secret."
I smile sadly.
"I know."
"Now come on, we've got to get you ready!"
"My loyal subjects, it please Us to see you here, to celebrate this important moment in Our son's life..."
Stars damn it! Why is she always so boring? I mean, she always start her speeches with 'My loyal bootlicker'! Would it hurt to shake it up a bit?
"...and this is why the Consecration is so important! A toast, to our future Warmaster!"
"Hail Prince Solus!" "Hail our Warmaster!" "Hail his Serene Highness!"
A toast to your WHAT?! I fucking HATE war! What the fuckity fuck are you fucking going on about you fucking bitch?!
I feel Shining Armour patting my upper foreleg, clearly in sympathy for the fucked up declaration we've just heard.
"Well, that's bucked up", Shining says, once we are back to my suite.
"You don't say?", I reply.
"What's bucked up?", Cadance asks, with Mac giving us a questioning look beside her.
"The Empress just told the Court that Solus is going to be the Warmaster one day", Shining answers.
"Warmaster? You mean the pony in charge of all the Empire's military activity?", she asks.
"The very same."
"That is bucked up", she replies.
"Doesn't matter", I say with a wave of my hoof. "Let's just go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day."
They all nod and we proceed to do as I say.
I knock on the door, then wait for it to open.
Surprisingly, I had a splendid night of rest! Not. Ughh.
"Solus?"
"Good morning, Twily!", I say with a smile.
"What are you doing here?", she asks, excited.
"I'm here to say goodbye, like I promised."
Her expression become downcast and her ears fold back.
"Oh."
I hug her, petting her mane.
"Don't worry, I'll come back. Plus, I've got permission to come back for your Celebration of Contentment."
She looks up with wide, hopeful eyes.
"Really?"
"Really, really", I reply with a warm and patient smile.
She hugs me back, nuzzling my chest.
"You're the bestest fiance ever!", she declares cheerfully.
My smile become a twitchy, brittle thing, though fortunately Twilight isn't looking at my face. Stars, I hate politics!
I compose myself before speaking anew.
"Thank you, Twily. Be good, alright?"
"I will be!", she affirms with a vigorous shake of her head.
"Good. If you are, and I'll know if you aren't, I've got a gift waiting for you."
"A gift?! What is it? What is it?!", she asks frantically.
"Ah, ah, ah! I can't tell, it's a surprise!"
"Awwww, but I want to know now!"
"But the gift will be all the better if you wait for it, no?"
"I guess...", she says in a disbelieving tone.
I smile, letting go and standing up.
"Goodbye, Twilight."
I bow down, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Which is rather hard with a unicorn.
"Goodbye, Solus..."
I smile one last time before turning away, though I do see a white shape coming down the hall. I guess Twily won't feel bad for too long.
"Sire?", a guard says.
Where the hell did you come from?
"Yes?"
"Your mother wants to see you."
"You wanted to see me, Mother?"
She looks up from a parchment, smiling slightly.
"I did. Sit down, please."
I think I preferred her when she was a cold-hearted bitch. This nice, caring Celestia gives me goosebumps.
"I wanted to see you so I could say a private farewell before you leave."
Is that so? I could have done without seeing you again, frankly.
"Do make sure not to do anything stupid while you're there, and learn all you can so you can grow into a magnificent Prince of Equestria", she says with a smile.
What is it with ponies thinking I'll do something stupid? I set fire to that thing one time! One!
"I'll do my best, Mother."
"I expect nothing less from you. You are to become the Warmaster, after all."
"I am? I hadn't been told before."
"It wasn't necessary", she replies tersely.
Fuck you.
"And why am I to become it?", I ask.
"I have to stay here to administrate the Empire. You, on the other hand, can go forth and help our armies be victorious."
Oh, is that it? I get all the risks while you get to pontificate over everypony else?
"I understand, Mother."
"Good. You can go."
I stand up, starting to leave.
"Solus?"
Uh? What-
"I love you", she says, hugging me tightly.
Ohfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck, lemmegolemmego, RIGHT THE FUCK NOW!
"I...I love you...too, Mother."
Oh god, I'm going to be sick, lemmego lemmego...
She let go, smiling, completely oblivious to my distress.
I smile back and I leave as quickly as I can before I faint.
"Solus?", someone asks, placing their hoof on my shoulder.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!", I shout, slapping the hoof away.
I hear doors opening, with the scrambling of hoof coming toward me.
"What the heck, Solus? That hurt!"
Can't breathe...
I fall on my side, hugging my hindlegs close to my chest.
"Solus? What's wrong? Solus!?"
Stop it! You're not a kid! You can control yourself! It's not because she mothergrandmothersisterauntcousin FUCKDAMMITSTOPTHINKINGABOUTITJUSTCONTROLFUCKDAMNITYOUREWORRYINGTHEMSTOPITIMAMONSTERNOSHEISIMHERSONIMLIKEHERNOIMNOTMYFAULTIKILLEDHIMHOWMANYNOIHADTOLIEDTOTHEMMYFAMILYITSNECESSARYIMLIKEHERIMAMONSTER-
"Solus, breathe!", someone says, trying to hug me.
"I SAID, DON'T TOUCH ME!", I scream, releasing an electric burst from my horn.
Someone screams, and then I feel my magic being forced back.
"Enough, Solus! Calm down!"
Shiny?
He tries to place his hooves on my withers but I scramble away, walking/stumbling as far from all of them as I can. I look around quickly around the room, and I see Mac looking over Cadance, whose fur is singed.
Did I do this? I didn't mean to I'M SORRY I DIDN'T I'M NOT A MONSTER I'MNOTLIKEHERIHURTMYSISTERIHURTHERIMANABOMINATION-
"Breathe, Solus! It's okay, just calm down!"
"IT'S NOT OKAY, I HURT HER, I HURT PROPER, I HURT MAC, I'M A MONSTER, JUST LIKE HER!"
"No you're not! Only someone who didn't feel guilt would be a monster!"
"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME! I'M-"
Shining's horn light up, and I feel sleepy, so sleepy...
NO! I can't sleep! I don't want to dream! I DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM AGAIN-
Shining Armour P.O.V.
I relax as soon as I see Solus fall asleep. I knew he was hiding his fears, but by heaven's grace, what the actual buck was that?
"Mac? How is she?", I ask the red colt.
"I'm fine, Shiny", Cadance says, trying to stand up, only doing so because Mac is there to support her. "Let's worry about Solus first. Do either of you know why he was so panicked?"
Mac shakes his head.
"I think...I saw a guard talk to him when I went to see Twilight, so maybe he talked with his mother?"
Cadance sighs, looking down.
"It's horrible how that actually makes sense as an explanation."
Mac snorts.
"Let's move him to his bed", I say. "We're lucky that the salon has a privacy spell, but I'd rather not leave it to chance."
I pick him up with my magic, Mac and Cady going ahead and opening the door to Solus' bedroom. Once inside I set him down, I turn to Cadance and Mac.
"We'll have to wake him up now. We're leaving soon, we can't let him sleep."
"I don't think that's a bad idea, considering he doesn't seem to be having good dreams", Mac says, pointing at the bed with his hoof.
I turn my head to look at Solus and see him thrashing and mumbling silently. I look back at them.
"I thought he had gotten his nightmares under control?"
Cadance shakes her head.
"He just got better at hiding them."
*sigh*
"Right. Give him his space, but be ready to stop him if he looks ready to run or something like that."
They both nod and I go to Solus bedside, preparing the counter-spell. I cast it, and Solus slowly starts waking up.
"Shiny?", he asks in a sedate whisper.
I place my hoof on his.
"I'm here, Solus, we're all here, it's okay", I tell him softly, trying to be as reassuring as I could.
"I'm sorry..."
Cadance move to my side, smiling.
"We know, Solus. We just want to help. Can you tell us what got you-"
"Nothing, I'm fine", he interrupts briskly.
"Solus-"
"I'm. Fine. Drop it."
We all look at each other. He's clearly lying, but then, he was always unwilling to "whine", feeling he didn't have the right to do so. Uff, Solus...
"We should get ready to leave. Cadance, stay still, I'm going to heal you..."